AREMA offers Private Rail Technology Tour

The American Railway Engineering and Maintenance-of-Way Association (AREMA) is offering the third of its successful railroad technology tours, to be held Sept. 4-14, 2013.

The Private Rail Technology Tour (PRTT), AREMA, co-sponsored by the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) and the International Air Rail Organisation (IARO), will analyze the newly reborn market for privately operated trains on public railways. Among the stops will be NTV’s Italo, HKX’s Hamburg Koln Express, Austria’s Westbahn and Regiojet, Czech Republic’s Leo Express, advances in mountain tunneling, railway maintenance procedures, and new light rail systems. “For those involved in constructing privately operated trains in the U.S., this presents a unique opportunity to compare operations, cost structures, infrastructure sharing, and problem-solving,” AREMA notes.

“This trip is designed for professionals who are involved in planning, design, construction, operations, and maintenance of railroad and rail transit infrastructure,” AREMA says. “Those managing, teaching, or establishing transportation policies will also find this trip of great value. Each stopover will include activities general enough to appeal to persons of many divergent professional backgrounds.”

“This tour follows our very successful 2008 European Rail Technology Tour and our 2010 Asia Rail Technology Tour,” AREMA says. The PRTT will be led by Mark Walbrun, P.E., Vice President for CH2M Hill and Past AREMA Group Vice President-Passenger & Transit. Walbrun led the previous technology tours and in 2012 he was presented with a plaque recognizing his leadership and support of the AREMA International Study Tours at the AREMA 2012 Annual Conference & Exposition in Chicago, Ill.

Participants can earn Professional Development Hours for attending this tour. APTA and IARO members will receive the AREMA Member Registration fee of $600. For all non-members, the fee is $760. Space is limited for this tour and the registration deadline is July 15, 2013.

All travel and hotel reservations must be made and paid for directly by each participant, offering attendees flexibility on price and schedule and allowing for use of airline and hotel rewards. A comprehensive itinerary and a list of suggested hotel locations and flights will be supplied. Some group reservations will be made on selected trains that are key to the itinerary.

For more information including the detailed itinerary and to register today, contact AREMA’s Lisa Hall at +1.301.459.3200 ext. 705, or lhall@arema.org.